Looking ahead: Spaulding grads told to savor the moment

Saturday

Jun 9, 2012 at 3:15 AMJun 12, 2012 at 3:45 PM

By Samantha Allensallen@fosters.com

ROCHESTER — Just narrowly missing fast-approaching thunderstorms, officials beamed the Spaulding family must have been looking down on the Class of 2012 favorably as their near two-hour long ceremony slipped in between a few raindrop plops and dark clouds.

Held outdoors on the fields behind Spaulding High School, 278 seniors received their diplomas, many remarking at how the last four years seemed to fly by.

Mayor T.J. Jean told students to savor the moment.

"Life goes by so fast and for so long as you were studying in high school, middle school and elementary school, it must have seemed to drag on and drag on," Jean said. "I can tell you, you're at the top of the roller coaster and it's about to go really, really fast. Enjoy the ride."

Collin Walmsley, vice president of the senior class, said he had no idea where the time went, but he was impressed at the extraordinary year his peers enjoyed together. He remarked at several senior pranks which led to the administration banning inflatable balloons from campus weeks ago, though tens of balloons were present at graduation, being tossed around as students sat patiently awaiting the granting of their diplomas.

Class Treasurer Ashley Griffin said she hoped everyone would reflect positively on her fellow seniors, and remember that they were responsible. Among many class gifts donated to the city, Griffin said seniors were also providing $346 for the cost of damages to locks. A senior after the ceremony explained several seniors used Superglue to paste pennies to locks throughout the school, which she heard resulted in several staff members being locked out of the building.

"We would never leave the school in anyway that makes us appear irresponsible. Therefore we are going to pay ," Griffin said during her presenting of the class gifts.

Commencement Speaker Greg Riley, a social studies teacher, joked he was looking forward to getting back his parking spot in the faculty lot, referencing another student prank where seniors parked in spaces designated for staff. But Riley also glowed with humor and pride, congratulating students on four years well done.

"You have done it. You are graduating," he said. "This is one of the great days in your life, one of those milestone days you will never forget."

He urged the crowd to cheer and applaud every time he used the word "magical," a term he said epitomized the class. He pointed to a third-floor window behind him in the high school, to his classroom in Room 305. Hundreds turned their heads to read posters that read, "2012 Magic."

"You never need to worry about getting a signed pass to go the bathroom, at least I hope not," he added. "That would not be magical."

In her welcome address for the evening, Class President Olivia Arruda quoted the beloved dean of students from the Harry Potter series Albus Dumbledore and recalled her first few days commuting on the school bus to Spaulding High.

“It’s simultaneously relieving and terrifying to be here knowing that this is one of the major turning points in life and that nothing will even be like it has been in high school,” she said. “ … I didn’t realize how quickly it would come.”

Newly-named Valedictorian Lydia Phoenix, recipient of an award for $2,300, told seniors in her time at Spaulding, she had learned so much. Stating she always knew she wanted be a doctor, and still hopes to become one someday, she admitted originally it was mostly for the status and the assuredly high paycheck. At the end of her freshman year though, after traveling to Haiti, she said she learned she would like to be doctor in a third-world country, helping those less fortunate than her.

She urged others to do the same.

"Some of us will be stay-at-home moms and some will be astrophysicists," she said.

"Whatever your passion is, ¿ look for ways to serve others."

As those gathered on the football field and in the bleachers cheered for each student walking up on stage to receive their diplomas, dozens of red and white caps were tossed into the air in celebration of the moment. Principal Rob Seaward said he was proud to see his students enter the world of prestigious Rochester and Wakefield alumni.

" ¿ You are now members of a proud heritage of Rochester graduates and are about to embark on the next phase of your journey in life," he said. "Like your fellow alumni ¿ you are now Spaulding alumni. You are poised for excellence, ready to take on the challenges ahead and add your stories to the legacy of Rochester and Spaulding High School."